When I first meet with you I will ask lots of questions. My goal is to learn as much as I can about you, your wedding day goals, your budget etc. This is also the best time for you to learn about my company. Take some time to look over our site and formulate your own list of questions. This meeting is laid back and fun - no pressure.

If you can't make it into my office or live out of the area please consider setting up a phone meeting instead. All of the info that we would go over in person is also on our website; it is very easy to cover things over the phone.

Below I have included a few links to the most important areas of our website.

A big part of choosing your photographer is loving the style range of his work! I think it is very important to first love the look and feel that your photographer can provide and then get to know the photographer on a personal level. Remember, you only spend a year working with your photographer but their work will be part of your family for centuries!

At this point your only focus should be on what style of photography really excites you! Click into our unique photography styles below and look over each gallery. Compare them side by side until you come up with 1 to 2 favorites. Make note of your selections and move on to the next step!

View our Galleries

Now that you have a general style in mind I need to learn what type of photography really turns you on. Please view the gallery below montage by montage until you come across five weddings that you ABSOLUTELY love and five that you ABSOLUTELY hate! Keep a note of each and send me your selections using the form linked below.

I will use your selections to fine-tune my understanding of your style. Keep in mind that you do not need to look at all of the pictures, just enough to select the FIRST five that you like and dislike. Just so you know this is a statistical process, not just a guess!

Image Style Gallery
Send me your selections

This process helps me become a better partner and actually know something about what you want rather than just making an assumption. Based on all that I know about you and your wedding I will recommend one of us to you. I won't recommend my studio to you unless I truly believe that we are a match.

Now that I have given you my advice it is up to you to make a decision.

Remember, you can change your package up to 60-days before your wedding and your deposit is refundable for 30 days - the agreement holds your day in stone and gives you the time to meet with your photographer and start the planning stage. The agreement also provides us with the important details of your wedding day so we can pass them along to your artist.

When you are ready for the next step, and want to meet with the photographer and begin the planning stage, Fill out the agreement online. A week or two after we get this info, once we are able to pass it along to your photographer, we will send you his/her contact info.

IMPORTANT: If you don't get a confirmation e-mail we probably didn't get your agreement. In this case, please contact us and we will e-mail you another form.

2012 Photography Agreement

Now that you are done selecting your artist based on photographs it is time to focus on personality! Please don't move forward until you are certain of your artists work; it is our job to help you with this part of the process and we have lot's of samples available. Once you move forward and begin working with your artist they will be 100% focused on getting to know you and planning your photography. The fun thing about this process for me as a photographer is that once I begin working with a couple I know that I am a strong style match; Now I get to focus on personality and planning...the fun stuff!

Once I am able to pass along all of your details to your artist he/she will send you an e-mail or give you a ring. If your package includes a second photographer I will work with your photographer to select this person a few months before your wedding.

When you first meet your photographer be sure to just relax. This is a time to get to know the artist and learn more about them as a person. If you want to start planning bring a list of your family members and a preliminary wedding day timeline. Also, please pick up an 'Oregon Bride' or 'Portland Bride & Groom' magazine and begin collecting samples of work that you like and dislike. Remember, as an artist it is a whole lot easier for us to be critical of images that we didn't take.

Moving Picture Weddings: A few years back we started Moving Picture Weddings with celebrity cinematographer Marc Rotse. MPW is an entirely new type of videography company. If you are considering video please check them out! All Powers client's get a special rate.

Pre-Ordering Albums & Prints: If you are interested in pre-ordering your album, canvas prints and other items please contact us right away! All of these items are on sale prior to your wedding but you have to place your order early on.

Friends & Family Editing: Instead of putting out table cameras, consider our friends and family editing option! With this product we will edit the images your guests take and deliver them to you on a seperate disc set to keep along with your professional images. This is a great way to involve your guests and keep all of your memories in one place.

Engagement Sessions: Upgrade to a 90 or 120 minute session and save 25% within a month of booking the studio! Also consider a Moving Picture Weddings motion session. Then you can play your personal MPW film on your wedding day! Please call us for more details.

Referring Friends: If you know anyone getting married or in need of a photographer please pass along our contact info - this is by far the best way to earn rewards and help with your photography costs!

'like' our Facebook Page:There are two great reasons to have your wedding day guests, family and friends 'like' our Facebook page. For every person who 'likes' our page you earn 10 rewards points. Facebook is also the first place we will introduce your wedding images and by following our page your friends will have easy and quick access to your images!

Our Preferred Business Team: Every vendor on this team comes highly recommended! They will all give you a discount if you mention that we referred you!

Here are a few things to think about as you prepare for your session. Remember, engagement sessions are NOT wedding photography... if you are thinking that the session will give you a good idea of how your wedding day photos are going to come out you better plan a second wedding for your engagement session - they are simply entirely different types of photography.

The session will probably be one of the first times you spend with your wedding photographer; take the time to sit down and talk over the types of images you want and what you plan to do with the pics. Get to know your photographer a bit and be absolutely honest with them... If you feel like you need more direction, ask for it... if you feel uncomfortable in the pose, tell them... work together as a team and learn from the experience and images.

When we shoot your engagement session we are at the very beginning of learning your style. It is very normal to really like a few of the images, but not nearly all of them. This is exactly how it should be as a good photographer will shoot the session using a variety of styles in order to learn what you really like. This means that you will like a few, hate a few and the rest will fall in the middle.

Take time to look over the images and be sure to look at them a few times before forming an opinion. While we can do many things to the images via the editing process, we can't change the way you look! Please make a list of things you love and don't like about the images and be specific. Your photographer will really appreciate this direct feedback.

New in 2011, Powers Photography Studios now offers the option of holding your engagement shoot or other session during one of our on 'Location Days.' Here is how it works: Every few months we announce a date, location and theme for our next session on facebook. If you are interested in coming out for this session you simply contact us to set up a shoot time! Most of our days are for engagement sessions but we also hold pet, family, wedding party and other themed shoots!

You can save even more by becoming a member of our Heritage Rewards Club. This membership gives you access to as many location shoot day sessions as you want for 3 years! Do your engagement session in Spring, gift a family session to your parents for the Summer and get a great holiday card shot in the Winter! You can even do the same thing again the next year. This membership is also a great gift for parents and friends.

Some upcoming locations include Downtown Portland, Vista Hills Vineyard, Timberline Lodge, The Portland Waterfront, Silvercreek Falls, and Maui, Hawaii!

These days we really don't need a checklist in order to document your wedding, however, it really helps to know the names of those really special folks that you absolutely must have photos of or with. As a general rule, if there are photographs that you absolutely can't live without, put the on a list and give this to your artist well before your big day! If you don't do this you can't be unhappy if something is missed :). Photo Shot List

Now that we are working together it is time to get the most from your photography experience! The links below will pull up a survey... the answers will help us custom tailor your package and needs. We don't want to bother you with information, products or sales literature that you don't want! Please take some time and fill out each of the survey questions. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this... it really helps us run a better company! You also can earn rewards points for filling out these surveys!

The 'Shooting/Editing Survey' will help your photographer and editor tailor the look of your images towards your style. While many people choose to not fill out this survey we HIGHLY recommend it. The more information we have about your preferences the better we can apply them to your images. Without this information we will shoot and edit based on the information we have up to this point.

If you don't use the tools we provide, like these surveys, you are increasing the risk that you will not like your images.

Pre Wedding Feedback Survey
Shooting/Editing Survey

Probably the most important meeting in the entire process is the Post Wedding Consultation Video! We ask you to watch this video before we ship your images just to be sure you get the most from your Powers experience.

On this meeting we will talk about your image disc set and the types of edits you can expect. We also go over the next steps in the editing process and how to take full advantage of the many options available to you. We will talk about the album and reprint ordering process, introduce you to the online ordering system and explain how to take advantage of sales and rewards points!

If you want to order an album, be sure to place your order as soon as possible after watching the online video. If you prefer, contact us to set up an album and reprint order meeting by clicking here.

Paying Your Balance The balance is due 15-days prior to your wedding. We will send you a statement showing your balance upon request – you can pay all or a portion of your balance online using a credit card.

Remember to relax! Be sure to sit back and soak in your big day! Most client's say they can't remember much and ususally this is because they try to do too much. You've spent a year planning, now it's time to be the bride and really enjoy the fruits of your labor!

If you added the FRIENDS & FAMILY IMAGE EDITING option to your package now is the time to upload your images! Remember, all images must be uploaded to our Friends & Family FTP Server within 30 days of your wedding. Be sure to tell your guests to put their images into a folder with titled 'your wedding name and date.' They may need to create a new folder inside of the initial folder in order to insure that images with same name don't delete one another.

The username is: friends_family
The password is: call us!

Shortly after your wedding (2-4 weeks depending on your package) we will publish a blog post including some great shots and feedback. Please enjoy this post and share it with your family and friends. If you link this post to your Facebook page you could also earn rewards points!

Now that your wedding has passed it is imperative that you watch the Post Wedding Consultation Film! We will send you a link shortly before and just after your wedding!

If you decide to purchase an album and want to come into the studio, please click here to set up a meeting! Remember, be sure to watch the online post wedding video before setting up an album order meeting.

TURN-AROUND TIME: We edit each wedding in date order and your photos are always edited by an artist specifically matched to your style. Your final edited image disc set will usually be shipped to you 8-10 weeks after your wedding. (2012 average turnaround time). This time can be shorter or longer depending on the time of year. If you chose to upgrade your editing this time will be much faster. Keep in mind that proper editing can take a lot of time but this is what you are paying for. We take this step very seriously and have your best interests at heart! If you want to upgrade your editing speed please contact us.

EDITING NOTES: Your high resolution DVD will include edited files from your wedding day. Major or personal edits such as removing or adding objects are not included and can be requested when you order a reprint or build an album. While we do a great deal of image modification, such as color balance, density correction, cropping, moving images into black and white, sepia and other tones, it is completely normal to request additional edits when you build an album or order prints. This is part of the editing process and a very important step.

YOUR LOGIN NAME/ONLINE ACCOUNT: Your login name consists of your wedding date and last name in the following order: Year-monthdaylastname or YY-MMDDlastname with no capitals or spaces. Here are a few example login names: 05-0110smith - January 10th, 2005 for Mr. and Mrs. Smith 04-0822thompson - August 22, 2004 for Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. If you have any trouble accessing your images or if you want your account re-loaded (accounts expire after 6 months) please contact us at 503-478-0997. Remember, most clients begin the album and print ordering process long before their images go online.

	Login to view your images:

STARTING YOUR ALBUM & REPRINT ORDERS: Remember, you do not need your images in order to begin the album process. By ordering either prior to your wedding or after watching the post wedding consultation film you will get the best available rates!

You can either order a fully designed album or opt for a more simply gallery style (one image per page) book. Copy albums are also available.

Visit www.PowersStudios.com and log into your online account to place album, reprint and canvas orders as well as purchase digital files or disc sets. You can also use your rewards points on all products sold via your online account!

Now is the time to save big and complete all your holiday shopping early! If you pre-order your photography related holiday gifts we are able to dramatically lower our rates. We also fully customize your items and giftwrap! We will ship or hand deliver your gifts right to you in very early December! You can always make changes to your order as the holiday season nears and pay over time! If you are interested in ordering holiday gifts please contact us for the discount code!